Ushio & Tora: The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch
Chapter 4 of 5
By Ysabet

Beyond the Aotsuki family's temple gates, the streets were beginning to wake up to the new dawn. It was still very early. Doors were being unlatched, stalls set up, deliveries made; the scents of tea and auto exhaust mingled on the still-cool breeze. Few people were about as yet, and they were all intent on their own business. Who had time to spare to look around? The day wasn't getting any younger, after all.

And what was there to see, anyway? Dead leaves crackling and stirring in the gutter, surely they were being disturbed by the wind and not by unseen footsteps. And if something soft and warm happened to brush against a passerby, well--- that must be the wind too. Nothing there, obviously.

And as for the soft conversation that wandered through the first noise of the day, even that must be the wind. What use was there in turning your head to listen? There was nothing to see. And nothing to hear, really….. It was just the wind.

But currently the wind seemed to be arguing with itself in two raspy voices. "---- and I don't plan to *start* eating dogs when I'm hungry, either, Tora! When the hell did you start doing that?!?" The wind laughed nastily. "Bakemono can't starve to death--- but we do get hungry. And besides, you said yourself that there were too many strays around. Don't be such an asshole. What were you planning on eating?"

Pacing unseen beside the orange monster, Ushio snarled. "Not a dog, goddammit! I *like* dogs! And no cats, either!" He was fast getting a headache; this 'staying invisible' bit took concentration and practice--- and he didn't really have the inclination or the time for either. The burn for revenge had melted and merged with a much simpler drive: hunting. It was distracting; he knew, if he really thought about it, that he was doing this so that no more kids would be drowned and eaten. But at the same time there was that simple, animal urge to chase, to catch….. It was clouding Ushio's thoughts, making him edgy and impatient.

Beside him, Tora shrugged and kept on walking. "Not cats, of course; they stick in the teeth. And they give me heartburn." Ushio shuddered; strays or pets, he was NOT about to start eating dogs and cats. Urrrrgh. He paused a moment to shift the set of the Spear across his back; it was uncomfortable, bumping about like that. There *had* to be a better way of carrying it!

Later. He had more important things to think about. Finding the water-yokai was definitely number one on his list--- he had plans for his new teeth and claws and an intimate introduction to their workings. It might even make the changes he had undergone worthwhile.

And then what? What do you do when your old life ends? He'd manage, he always did--- being the Spearbearer had taught him a lot in his young life about surviving. But oh, so many things to miss…… He had been a healthy seventeen-year-old male, with all the usual attendant hormones, apprehensions and expectations; the few chances he had had at, ahhhh, exploring his options (so to speak) had made him pretty damn anxious to further his experience. Well, shit; so much for that. Any future explorations would have to involve something other than teenage girls, and he *really* wasn't ready to face THAT concept….. And, not for anything in heaven or earth was he going to talk to Tora about the subject!! No way, no how.

He wondered how a bakemono went about locating others of the opposite sex and nearly walked into a stack of wooden crates. Beside him, Tora grunted questioningly. Ushio flattened his ears; "….Nothing. Just thinking."

The monster snorted. "You had better keep your mind on how to find that foreigner. We can't use you as bait this time. Of course," he went on in a contemplative tone, "we could find a nice, tender human child and tie it to a tree somewhere down by the water….." He trailed off at Ushio's look of horror and shrugged again.

What was it Tora had called the water-yokai? "Her name--- `Jenny', umm, what was the rest of it?"

The other bakemono was watching a young woman unpack a box of used books; the musty-sweet odor of dust and paper floated on the wind. "Griin-tiith. Something like that. Ugly bitch, wasn't she? Sharp claws, too." Yes, thought Ushio. Sharp. "Well, she'll see how sharp mine are soon." He felt his lips draw back in anticipation. Behind him, the Spear hummed softly in response.

The marketplace near the river was gearing up for a busy day; already the two hunters could catch the odors of frying food on the breeze, mixed with those of hot cardboard and styrofoam containers. A breath of sweat-scent from a heavyset man unloading crates of cabbages made Ushio blink; humans smelled….. interesting. Thank God they didn't smell like food to him. Each one smelled so different, though; all human, but amazingly individual. He sniffed deeply: warm-salt-cabbage-sweat, that was the worker; tears-soap-powder-that was the baby being pushed past them in a stroller. The child's eyes widened at the sight of the two bakemonotachi and she gurgled happily at them, reaching a chubby hand; it just missed Tora's fur, and he continued on unawares. Oh yeah, that was right; Tora had told him that children could often see the unseen--- they hadn't trained their minds to ignore the world yet. Ushio drew in yet another deep breath, sampling the life around him: riverscent, dead fish, sun-on-metal, cut grass, pigeons, old wood---- he stumbled slightly, brushing against Tora. The bakemono swore. "Hey Brat--- can't you keep on your feet? What's your problem?" Ushio muttered "Sorry" and continued walking. "It's just…. everything's so--- It all smells so, uh, *strong*. Different. Interesting. How do you keep your mind on what you're doing?" He inhaled again, only to be brought up short by a human scent that was actually familiar: lotus-flower, some kind of herbal shampoo (he guessed), and an elusive aroma that defied identification:

Mayuko. He had always thought, even as a child, that she had smelled wonderful. He didn't know what it was, exactly; it wasn't like Asako's scent (which he found himself wanting badly to sample), not that compelling, womanhood scent….. But it was Mayuko's, and she was somewhere nearby. He froze in his tracks even as Tora bit off the scathing remark he had been amount to make. "The Hamburger Girl!" he hissed happily; ever since she had fed him hamburgers (in lieu of being eaten herself) she been given that designation. Both bakemonotachi looked around, Tora with anticipation and Ushio with extreme trepidation. No way; he did NOT feel like facing her now! Not her, not Asako (*especially* not Asako!), not any human being. Not yet…… He jerked back, looking desperately around--- near, very near; what the hell was she doing around here at this time of morning?!? "Tora!" he snarled, "I don't want her to see me! Where--?" But it was too late.

She came around a corner in a drift of blown leaves and early pedestrians, her tawny hair fluttering in the light breeze. Mayuko always dressed simply, and she wasn't exactly what you'd call a raving beauty, but her calm heart-shaped face and enormous eyes always stood out in any crowd. She slipped quietly through the beginning bustle of the morning, looking around her intently; her gaze swept the tangle of vendors, goods and people, looking for--- what? Something specific. Ushio knew what she was looking for, and he tried to slink backwards into the angle of two crates. She had *always* known when something was wrong, always, from their earliest days of childhood; how many tears of his had Mayuko soothed away? His tantrums and storms had simply slid off of her easy strength, the strength of a strong and gentle spirit. There had been moments when that spirit had stood her and her two friends in good stead, too, calming Ushio and Asako's wilder tempers when they flared (and, incidentally, keeping them from murdering each other). Always Mayuko had been there to help….. but he didn't think she could help him now.

Not anymore.

The *last* thing he wanted to do was to scare her. Ushio had no illusions about his appearance; hadn't he spent time in front of the mirror the night before reveling in his fearfulness? Tora was one thing, Tora was familiar--- but how could she see her friend in the terrible monster that he now was?

And Tora, absolute idiot that he was, was *pacing forward towards her*; he wasn't exactly smiling (you wanted to worry if you saw him smiling), but his head was up. The two had a very peculiar relationship--- Ushio had never been quite able to figure it out. Mayuko had never seemed even remotely afraid of the huge bakemono, even when he had told her quite bluntly that he wanted to eat her (bringing about his current mania for hamburgers); that seemed, on the surface, to be frankly stupid and suicidal in the extreme….. but Tora seemed to actually *like* her. Maybe it was the novelty of the whole situation.

Whatever. Right now Ushio was wishing really hard that he had learned that trick that Tora had of slipping through walls--- he needed *out* of here, immediately. His tail tucked, he cringed as far backwards into his corner as he could…. Oh God, she had seen the bakemono (she could always see him, no matter what) and was coming towards them. Ushio shrank back, black mane falling forward to cover his face.

And this was what Mayuko saw: Tora, as big and fearful (though not to her) as life, calling out "Hai! Hamburger Girl! What are you about so early for?", while something dark and nearly as large crouched behind him, hiding its face like a frightened shadow. Her eyes widened as she took in the silver claws, the white lightning-mark on its forehead, the half-hidden golden eyes….. the Kemono No Yari knotted in its black, black mane like an oversized hairstick……

To give her credit, she didn't jump to the obvious conclusion (that Tora had finally decided to have Ushio for breakfast, and had invited company); instead Mayuko slowly took a step forward, then another. Around her, passers-by went about their business, oblivious to the little tableau unfolding in their midst. Ushio stayed hunkered down but looked up at her through the blackness of his mane; she was staring at him, brow furrowed in concentration. For a moment she seemed to look right through him with her clear, ocean-gray eyes.

"……. Ushio….?"

He moaned; he couldn't help it. This was really, really bad--- Ushio could deal with everything so long as it was just him and Tora, at least for the moment (later…. He'd find out then), but someone else's reactions---- He felt a wave of shame and grief rush over him. It was just too much. Anger had made a good shield against the terror and loss so far, but if Mayuko was *afraid* of him….. Had he been able to back away any further, he would have; Ushio ducked his head low and closed his eyes in terror, unable to bear seeing her fear.

Instead he felt a very light brush of fingers against his forelock, right where the white lightning slash made its jagged mark; it felt strange….. except for Tora, no-one had as yet touched his new form. Ushio slowly opened his eyes to stare up into his friend's face. She had gone rather white and her eyes were wide with shock; Tora watched the two of them for a moment and gave an exasperated grunt. "No hamburgers today" he muttered to himself resignedly. Then, glancing around at the growing market crowd, he said brusquely "Elsewhere, idiots. This isn't the place for talking." And he turned and stalked away towards the nearby shoreline like an affronted tiger, tail flicking. Slowly Ushio and Mayuko both followed, walking side by side; she glanced wonderingly at the black bakemono but he only looked away.

A convenient bench in a copse of trees beyond the embankment provided a place out of view. Morning mist was beginning to clear from the river's surface by now and the rays of the sun sparkled off of the rippling water; Tora crouched among the weeds on the bank, an impatient expression on his striped face. The situation was obviously not to his liking. Ushio could practically see the thoughts passing through his mind: 'Humans! What a pain in the ass!' The former temple boy huddled on the dew-wet grass and tried to look as harmless as possible; Mayuko sank down on the bench and looked from monster to monster, waiting patiently for an explanation. When a long moment produced nothing more than the distant traffic noises and the lapping of water, she cleared her throat and looked inquiringly at Ushio.

"Aotsuki….. That's not a good look for you." She cocked her head to the side, considering. "Who did you annoy this time? Some god or something?" The young woman sounded remarkably calm. Ushio sighed and looked down at the ground; Tora only snickered. "No…… Not this time. I got my ass kicked and nearly died; this was the only way to stay alive……."

And there on the riverbank he told his friend the whole story.

By the time he had finished, Ushio was up and pacing; Tora had seemingly dropped into a doze, silver eyes closed against the morning sunlight. "…… and I'm getting used to it, but it's still pretty weird. Everything is so different--- all my senses have changed a hell of a lot, and I don't know shit about how to understand half of what I smell or hear…… And I--- don't know what I'm going to do after this is all over. I can't exactly go back to school like this, or get a job, or….. well, do anything I would've done." He stopped pacing and looked down at where Mayuko still sat on the bench. Her face was still a little pale, but she didn't really look as horrified as he had expected. Ushio turned restlessly away to stare out over the river; the retelling of his battle, near-death and transformation had him wired and edgy, angry all over again. "Goddammit! I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on four feet--- Even being the Spearbearer forever would be better than this!" He glanced over at Tora. "It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that at least I'm still alive, I do--- but…. DAMmit!!!" He growled, and the soft rumble filled the clearing, dying away among the sounds of the river. Mayuko stared up at his fierce profile and her gray eyes filled with tears.

Slowly his friend reached out a hand and touched him on the shoulder; Ushio started, turning his golden eyes to hers. "I'm sorry" she whispered. She started to draw her hand back--- and then hesitantly reached out to brush her fingers across the pale blaze on his chest. "Is that--- where the youkai hurt you? I can feel something wierd there, like static." Mayuko looked a little disturbed for a moment; she wasn't at all comfortable with her own peculiar abilities.

He tucked his chin and glanced down at his white markings. "Yeah, that's where Tora….. did whatever he did." They both looked over at the unusually quiet bakemono; he sat in the sunlight light a great, feral Sphinx, eyes closed. Ushio sat down beside the bench; without thinking about it he flicked his tail around to lie across his claws, just like the cat he now resembled. Mayuko watched, bemused; then she reached down and touched one of his hands. "Let me see." He allowed her to lift it up, feeling the shift of tendon and muscle as she gingerly explored the shape of his new fingers; the retractable claws seemed to fascinate her as much as they did him. Ushio obligingly extended them; after a moment, she touched a single finger to a needle-point. "Ouch! Sharp…" and one red drop welled up on her fingertip.

Human blood. Ushio shifted uncomfortably; this was the first time he had smelled it, and the scent evoked peculiar reactions from his senses. It was so warm, so salt-sweet and rich: even that tiny drop filled the air like perfume. It shone in the sunlight like a ruby, and he knew he was staring, and that she was watching him; with a shiver, Ushio dropped his eyes to the ground. A faint rustle to one side told him that Tora had also been watching.

For a moment, Mayuko had not been sitting with two friends; she had instead been surrounded by predators. Quietly she wiped the blood away onto a fallen leaf.

Trying to forget what had just happened, Ushio walked over to the river's edge to sit by Tora, who watched him narrowly from half-slit eyes. Behind him he could hear Mayuko; her breathing had speeded up a little and her scent had strengthened, a slight tang of what might be fear coloring it. "So…. How did you know something was wrong?" he asked, doing his best to ignore the way the blood sparkled on the fallen leaf.

"Oh….. you know. I dreamed about it." Mayuko sighed. She had seen her friend's reaction--- but she didn't really want to think about it. Too scary. *This is Ushio* she reminded herself; *You've known him since he was little, he won't hurt you no matter what……. Even though this is a really big 'what'……*

She started again. "I dreamed that you were in trouble; you had fallen into this really deep hole, and were standing at the bottom and calling for help. Tora was--- in another hole, I think? It's hard to tell in dreams." Mayuko smoothed her skirt down over her knees, concentrating. "I could see the Spear down there with you, but it was so dark….. All I could really tell was that you were down there. Oh--- and that you didn't have any clothes on. That was kind of weird….." Both bakemonotachi were eyeing her oddly; Ushio felt a rush of blood to his face, glad that monsters couldn't blush. Mayuko spread her hands and shrugged; "Don't ask me; that's what I dreamed." Now *she* was blushing. Tora simply shrugged and blinked sleepily.

"I didn't really know what to expect this morning, so I came to find you; you know I always know if you or Asako are in trouble. By the way, does Asako---?" She looked at him inquiringly.

"No. And I want to keep it that way." At Ushio's harsh tone, Mayuko looked startled; then she nodded, understanding. "You don't want her to see you like this…." The young woman frowned at the black bakemono; Tora opened one eye, then the other, and watched with interest. "You know, Atsuki, she's not an idiot or a coward. She'd know as well as I do that it was you, not some big, scary.…. Um. Well." Mayuko looked at Tora, who merely grinned, showing just the tips of his sharp teeth; humans could be so amusing.

Ushio's tail flicked back and forth once or twice. "No. Mayuko, believe me--- this is hard enough!" He paused for a moment, claws digging into the dirt. "Whether or not I….. manage to survive this, I can't--- can't go back to what I was." He looked over at Tora, who stared back silently. "I haven't even asked, you see….. I can feel it in my, in my bones. This is….. permanent. Isn't it, Tora?"

There was a long silence.

The ancient bakemono turned his head to stare out over the river. "It is."

The clearing was very quiet and still. Only the breeze moved, fluttering the leaves overhead, the girl's skirt, black fur, orange fur, tattered red silk streamers. Still looking out over the water, Tora spoke again. "You were remade by death, blood, power and lightning; it would take the same to remake you again..... only more of each. When one--- becomes a monster--- that is usually what one remains." A strange, bitter note sounded in his voice for a moment: remorse? regret?

But Ushio would not ask--- he would not. This was one of the forbidden subjects. He *had* wondered, on occasion, if Tora had been, well...... something else, once upon a time. Something human. There were stories, old legends about people who became monsters....... But then, it was a little too ironic to be speculating on *that* subject, wasn't it? Especially for *him*?

Oh, yes. It was. So he would not ask.

Behind their clearing the noises of the vendors were beginning to rise as the morning progressed. Tora rose to his feet. He shook himself once, eyes closed, like a cat shaking off water or a monster shaking off bad dreams. Ushio looked away, wondering if someday that might be *him* trying to forget a human life, human hopes, human fears.

Mayuko stood up and cleared her throat abruptly. "Ahhh... You were going to go after the water-youkai, weren't you? Did you have a plan?" She sounded rather desperate to change the subject; Ushio shot her a grateful glance. He sank to a crouch and pulled the Kemono No Yari loose from his mane to rest it on the ground before him. "Well, sort of. We're going to check the shoreline again, and then take a look at structures along the water--- boathouses, bridges, docks, that sort of thing." He dropped his head, sniffing at a half-crushed plant under his claws; the sharp, clean scent cleared his head. At a light touch on his back he looked up; Mayuko had stepped closer and was staring at him intently. Drawing a deep breath, she spoke: "I want to go h-hunting with you."

The fur on the back of Ushio's neck stood straight up. He had NOT heard that, no way; he just shook his head. Impossible, too impossible to even reply to. Mayuko wasn't anything like a hunter, she----

But he heard Tora rumble in a contemplative tone: "Hrrrrrrmmmmhhhrrrrr. Not a bad idea. That damned foreigner seems to be good at hiding her scent, and you can see what we cannot. You'd make tasty bait, too. But she might eat you............" Ushio stared at Tora in shock; the orange monster was eyeing Mayuko speculatively. "Be afraid, Hamburger Girl. You should be. If she tears you up I don't know if I can make *you* into a bakemono too, though you might make the Brat a good mate….." Tora trailed off, laughing softly; Mayuko coughed.

Furiously Ushio growled: "TORAahhhhhhhrrrrrrrrr!!!…… Are you CRAZY? She can't go with us, she'll get shredded! We *can't* use her as bait--- look what happened to ME when we tried that, you shithead!!" He gripped the Spear in his claws, shaking the point in the monster's face, who flinched back with a snarl.

"And why not? There's two of us now--- and even though you're slow and clumsy---" Tora ducked a blow from a set of silver claws "---we should be able to keep her alive." The orange bakemono hissed at the black one. "Idiot, idiot! You were so worried about more humans being eaten--- If the Hamburger Girl wants to take a risk, let her!" he spat, baring his teeth. A faint crackle of lightning flickered around his brow, barely visible in the morning sunlight. Mayuko flinched but held her ground, looking from one monster to the other.

Ushio's tale lashed as he growled again. He started to reply (something about Tora being dropped on his head when he was little), but a hand clenched in the fur on the back of his neck brought him up short. He jerked his head around to stare at Mayuko, his teeth still slightly bared; her eyes widened, but she stood fast.

"Ushio, he's right--- I can be of help. A trap is better than just, just looking around at random--- and besides……" she stopped for a moment and swallowed. "--- Now that you've told me about her eating *kids*, do you think I could just go home and forget about it?" Mayuko's grey eyes darkened at the thought. "I played along the riverbanks here with you when we were kids--- it could've gotten us!" *It DID get me* thought Ushio sadly, but said nothing…. The young woman continued: "And you don't want me telling Asako, do you? You know what she'll want to do--- She'll want to hunt for this thing herself! That'll mean *two* of us for you to worry about!" Mayuko stamped one foot in emphasis.

Ushio pulled angrily away, leaving several long black hairs in Mayuko's hand; stiff-legged, he stalked over to a nearby tree and aimed a frustrated blow at the trunk: Thwack! His silver claws dug deep furrows in the bark, showering leaves down onto his head. "Fine! But if you get killed, it'll be your own fault…… No." He rubbed at his forehead with a black-furred hand, attempting to calm a little; this was making his head ache. "Screw that. If you get killed….. I couldn't stand that. I couldn't." Ushio closed his eyes, shaking a little. He could hear Tora shift impatiently among the weeds behind him.

Then he felt two gentle hands cup along either side of his jaw and looked up straight into Mayuko's eyes; she was pale, her usually gentle face fierce and determined. "Then you'll just have to make sure I don't, Ushio-kun" she said quietly, the childhood name recalling a simpler time. There was a moment when no-one said anything. Then Ushio drew a long, deep breath, nodding slowly; agreement seemed to be his only option. Visions of Asako and Mayuko being ripped apart by a slimy green youkai filled his mind's eye, and *anything* was better than that.

Behind him he heard Tora mutter "Good. Too much time wasted already--- Let's go."

Mayuko looked down at the long strands of black mane in her hand; she coiled them up around a bit of stick and slipped them in her pocket. Now that her battle had been won, she looked a little uncertain. "Uhm, alright. Where shall we start?"

Tora stood and stretched, long, long amber claws ripping and gouging the soft ground. The ancient bakemono turned to grin at his two companions; his white, white teeth glittered like knives in the sunlight. "You wanted a plan? I have one!" Still grinning, he continued: "A good one, too. I thought of it earlier; we'll need a rope. Follow me." And, laughing at their expressions, the monster turned and bounded down the shoreline towards the distant bridge.

End of Chapter 4 of 5